Records and Archives recently received a grant of $4,265 from the Heritage Policy Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada, for the digitization of 28,200 feet of 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audio tapes of Grandstand stage shows from 1952 to 1968. During this time period, the CNE Grandstand presented evening variety shows featuring an array of Canadian and American singers, dancers and comedians. The nightly Grandstand stage shows usually attracted capacity crowds of 33,135. Therefore, over the course of each 21-day season, approximately half a million people would have watched the stage show at the Grandstand. Highlights captured on the recently digitized tapes include musical performances by Howard Cable and the CNE Symphony, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Robert Goulet, Lorne Greene, Percy Faith, Art Linkletter, Teresa Stratus, Billy Van and the Smothers Brothers. The digitization was done by Richard L. Hess, audio tape restoration specialist, Aurora, Ontario. Due to copyright restrictions, the digitized files are only available for reference in the archives. However, a listening station will also be set up by the Archives during the 2009 Canadian National Exhibition to allow visitors to enjoy short audio samples of the digitized tapes.
Staff of the Archives would like to acknowledge and thank the Heritage Policy Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada for their generous support.
Linda Cobon
Manager, Records and Archives
